I'm curious as to which you all prefer, a maple or rosewood board on your Fender necks. This is purely about feel, not tonal attributes, aesthetics, perceived stability, what "Eddie" or "SRV" uses/used, etc. so don't even go there.

For years, I was in the rosewood camp because I could 'grip' the strings better with a lower action and my fingers were in touch with wood vs. some sort of plastic. Over time, I realized that a compound radius and/or larger frets would allow me the same conditions on a maple board provided that it didn't have 10 gallons of finish on it. Now, per the above, I feel that it makes no difference unless the rosewood board is inferior which tends to slow me down.

To All,
Your, "mileage"?

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You dig?

I'm glad you brought this up because I thought I was alone in this.

For me, definitely all maple...
...and I have absolutely no measurable or logical or reasonable rationale for my preference.
It's just that way. Maybe I'm just a freak, I reckon.
I have two (nearly) identical strats, and for some reason,
I can find my way along the scale and between the strings better on the maple than on the rosewood.
And another thing (sorry to deviate from the "Terms of Feel"),
I can also "read" the maple better when I'm looking at it.

I like an almost bare but smooth neck feel. Maple seems faster, but rosewood seems to be more aggresive. I prefer my strings low to the fretboard. I want the width to be thick, some what like a V profile but with a more pronounced thickness like KWS or SRV's neck. Frets can be wide but low.... I perfer my pickups to be mellow in the neck and have some bite in the bridge but not brittle. I could care less where the guitar was made or who's signature is on the headstock.

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"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


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Simply aesthetically I like the looks of Rosewood or Ebony. Regardless of the tone argument, I just like the looks better. I see no difference in playing personally.

I only have one Maple Fretboard and that my HotRod Tele. It just looks right on that guitar.

It's all about the eye of the beholder.

YMMV

Good topic

I like the feel of rosewood better. The finish on the maple board seems to be what puts me off. Many of the maple boards I have played feel sticky, and slow. I tend to have more trouble getting my fingers right up behind the frets.

I do have a tele with a maple fingerboard (just looks right to me), but I had to try quite a few to find one where the fretboard finish felt right.

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'09 Am Deluxe Ash Strat
'09 Mex Standard Strat
'10 Mex Standard Tele
Champ 600
Blues jr.
'65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue

For years I swore by Rosewood, but over time I started playing maple only necks. At the moment I'm back to Rosewood, but I like them both for different reasons.

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1975 Sunburst Stratocaster rosewood finger board
1979 Stratocaster with roseowood finder board
2001 Candy Green Clapton Stratocaster
2007 Andy Summers Inspired Telecaster
2007 '51 P-Bass
2012 Taylor 110
2015 Mystic Ice Blue Deluxe Stratocaster Plus

All neck materials provide different feels. Each has its own purpose.

I like a satin maple neck for bright, airy songs. I like satin w/ rosewood for mellow or intense, gritty songs. And, I like satin ebony for full dynamics and a bright top end!

I like smooth, satin finishes because they feel greasy but accurate when hot, and grippy and accurate when cold! I found shiny necks to be too grippy and too slippery in all conditions!

I can appreciate both. I find rosewood boards feel nice to the touch.. but my heart won't leave a nice maple neck. Theres something about the singular piece of wood that makes it feel so right.

My Miliage? This is weird but when it comes to a Fender I prefer a Maple Neck...but when it comes to Gibsons, rosewood all the way...Could it be the scale length that makes me this way? Can't explain it but...that's my story and I am sticking to it!

T2

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What time is it? It's Fender Time.

Rosewood.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Rosewood feels the best to me,and lately my favorite Strat has a 7.25 radius.....feels just right and vintage.

Maple here

Gotta go with Maple... Just like the looks better..

Bill

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Hey, Boy Blue is back!

Okay, so you asked about feel only so I gotta go with the rosewood -- not by much, though.. I also chose rosewood when I bought my Tele...

Very simple for me. After 33 years as a car mechanic, I have to go easy with my hands, so I choose a guitar, feel the neck and if I can play nonstop for a few minutes then it is a keeper. Be it rosewood or maple I don't care. I do prefer the Strats though but it is all about non technical knowledge, I know very little about what radius is, neck shapes and so on. I've heard about a lot of stuff here, but I was already won over to the Stratocaster before I bought my first electric guitar. Playing one for a few years confirmed my original choice.